Deseo del Corazón ReWrite
by AWiltedRoseSighs
Summary: This is the Re-Write of Deseo del Corazón. Hermione and Severus are drawn together by a marriage law, and an old potion that determines your hearts desire. How will the Dungeon Bat and the Brightest witch of her age cope? Secrets come to light and tears are shed. SS/HG, HP/GW, RW/LB, LL/NL
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own HP.**

 **Changes - I changed the minister from Srimgeour to an OC, and 'hopefully' removed some of the 'childishness'.**

 **Chapter One**

It was a calm, quiet night when Hermione Granger's life changed. She was at her parent's house after the war was over, and the houses around them were silent. The noises coming from the television were muted to the Eighteen year old witch, as she sat on the couch next to her mother reading a book. After the tense camping the previous year, she was grateful for the time to relax, and besides her correspondence with Ron and Harry, the only contact she had with the wizarding world was through the books she had bought before searching for her parents.

Despite the fact that the war was over, Hermione was not able to squash the instinct to jump up and draw her wand when someone knocked on the door. She turned to her parents and motioned for them to be silent, and cast disillusionment charms on them. The rational part of her knew that she was probably overreacting, but the part of her that had just been through a war couldn't be more prepared as she opened the door.

"Hermione Granger?" The tall man at the front of a group of ministry officials asked.

"Yes."

"My name is Patrick Jergens and I am the Minister of Magic. I have come to inform you and your family that a new law has been passed."

After glancing at the delegation and not seeing a wand in their hands, Hermione narrowed her eyes. "What kind of law?" She asked, mind blazing.

"It is of the utmost importance that both my colleagues and I speak with you and your family, and it would be much more convenient if we could do so inside."

"How do I know that none of you are death eaters in disguise?"

She could tell that he was having a hard time not rolling his eyes, and frowned at the few who didn't resist. "Ms. Granger, if I could do anything to placate your concerns, I would, however you will need to trust me until I can get what I came here to say out on the table."

Hermione didn't move from her defensive position in the doorway as she asked him, "will you make an oath on your magic that neither you nor any of your colleagues will do any harm to either me or my parents?"

He nodded, realizing that he wouldn't get in any other way, and slowly raised his wand. "I, Patrick Charles Jergens do solemnly make an oath on my magic, and honor, that neither I nor my colleagues will cause any harm to Jean, Richard, or Hermione Granger." A small flash was emitted by his wand, and he raised an eyebrow at her, as if questioning whether it was sufficient.

She gave them all another look before nodding, and stepping aside to allow them entrance. As she was shutting the door behind them she motioned towards the living room. "We'll do this in here, but you'll need to conjure extra chairs."

Hermione quickly cast the charm that revealed her parents when they entered the room, and didn't miss the glance that the minister sent at her. They all arranged themselves around the coffee table, and one of the ministry workers conjured a tea pot, which was distributed amongst them before the minister started to speak. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Hermione, we have come here tonight to tell you that a new Marriage Law has been passed. Normally we would start at the beginning of an alphabetical list and work our way down, but there are certain high profile cases, like 'the Golden Trio' who need protection from potentially problematic spouses. So along with you, Harry, and Ron: we are also alerting a small amount of others before calling the general public into the ministry to find out their intended."

Jean, who was glancing at her daughter, turned to the minister. "Who all is on this list? I would hope that no married people are on it, as it would be very destructive."

Hermione barely controlled the urge to hex the official who sneered at her mother and snidely remarked, "The list is compiled only of single witches and wizards that are of age."

The minister looked towards the man who had spoken. "That will be enough Mr. Fletcher."

Hermione kept her glare on him for a moment longer before turning back towards the ministry, and saying lightly, "Please continue."

"As I said, this is a marriage law, and to determine your future husband, we give you a potion called _Esposo del deseo de mi Corazon._ It was invented by a Spanish conquistador a few centuries ago, who wanted to prove to his wife that he truly loved her. Loosely translated it means 'spouse of my hearts desire'. This potion searches through your memories, and analyzes your magical signature to see if you have become romantically attached to anybody, as it leaves an imprint on your core. A minute after you ingest the potion we will take a small sample of your blood."

"Why would my blood be needed?" Hermione asked him.

At the word blood Jean paled. "Just how many people are going to be affected by this law?"

The minister turned very serious. "All unmarried, of age citizens of magical Britain. During the seventh year at Hogwarts, all of the students that fall under this category will be taking a few extra classes to prepare them for marriage. A child development class and what not."

Hermione leaned forward, "May I ask again why my blood would be needed."

"After taking the potion, we will prick your finger and let the blood fall onto a piece of parchment where it will spell out the name of your intended. As soon as you take the potion, your name will be removed from the list."

Hermione's face turned thoughtful, but her father frowned, "and what if the person is unwilling? Or if my darling daughter gets chosen by someone else after she comes to terms with who her blood determines."

The sneering man who had been rude to Jean turned to Richard. "The magic of the potion will only write a name after checking the others heart as well. And as Patrick has already said, after Hermione's blood chooses her mate, her name will be crossed off of the list."

"Mr. Fletcher if you do not stop snapping at my parent's I will not be held responsible for my actions."

Jeans curiosity broke through the silence that followed Hermione's statement. "How will it do that?" She asked, referring to the potion. "How will it check somebodies heart who isn't here?"

The corners of the ministers' lips twitched. "Magic."

"Is there any other option besides me doing this ritual?" Hermione asked, curiosity brimming at the magic being described.

"I can leave, and you can wait until somebody else takes the potion and your name is listed."

Hermione looked between her parents before turning back to the minister. "May I speak to my parents alone for a moment?"

Patrick nodded, "Of course Ms. Granger, take as long as you need."

Hermione stood and followed her mum and dad into the kitchen, "what do you think I should do?"

Jean smiled fondly at her. "I think that you are too proud of knowing as much as you can to be comfortable not knowing who you are intended to marry."

Hermione turned to her dad. "Daddy?"

"Sweetheart, whatever you want to do is fine by me. I want you to do whatever you think will make you the happiest. If that means waiting impatiently for a letter telling you who your future husband will be, then do so. But I agree with your mother, as I always do, by thinking that you'd be happier knowing."

For a brief moment Hermione allowed her insecurities to shine through. "What if he doesn't want me?"

"Well then I'll get your friends Ron and Harry to magic him up with their fists." Richard replied, before moving forward and pulling her into a tight hug. "If he doesn't want you, then he is insane. Though if what they say is true, then if he says he doesn't want you then he's lying."

Hermione hugged them both before glancing back to the living room. "Thank you two, we might as well go tell them before Mr. Fletcher gives himself an aneurysm." The Grangers returned from the kitchen, and reclaimed their seats before ten minutes had passed. "My parents and I have decided to do the ritual, but I was wondering if you could explain the process better? Do I just take the potion and then drip the blood onto the parchment?"

Patrick laid a blank piece of parchment on the coffee table in front of Hermione and her parents, and set a potion vial down next to it. "You will take this potion, and about forty-five seconds after you take it, you will begin to feel slightly light headed, which will be a short acting reaction to the rush of your magical core being stimulated. As soon as you begin to feel light headed, you need to begin to chant the name of the potion, and when we prick your finger you will continue chanting until the drop of blood touches the paper."

"So I chant ' _Esposo del deseo de mi corazón_?"

"Yes," he paused allowing her a moment to think over what she had to do. "You may take the potion whenever you are ready."

"How long after I begin chanting do we prick my finger?" Hermione asked him, as she picked up the vial and unstoppered it.

"About a minute after you begin the chant."

Hermione nodded, and tipped the vial back, downing its contents. After she had swalled the potion she moved her tongue around in its wake and said, "It tasted sweet." Though she hadn't been counting seconds, the light headed-ness hit her when predicted. So she started speaking, " _Esposo del deseo de mi corazón. Esposo del deseo de mi corazón._ "

The minister had been staring at his watch, and after sixty seconds he held his hand out for hers, and touched the tip of her finger with his wand. Palpable silence filled the room as the blood dripped on the parchment and began to swirl. The swirling continued until the crimson blood formed three words.. three words that spelled out a name. Hermione gasped, and even some of the ministry officials seemed shocked. Because the name that had been spelled out in blood, was Severus Tobias Snape.

 _~Finite Incantantem_


	2. Chapter 2

**I still don't own HP. No significant changes to this chapter.**

 **Chapter Two**

For what felt like years, but in reality was mere seconds, Hermione stared dumbfounded at the parchment. She looked up at the ministry officials, oblivious to her parents confusion, and burst out, "Are you bloody kidding me?"

"Hermione," Her mom said, "language."

The look of shock on Patrick Jergens face did not dissipate when he solemnly began to speak. "I know that this probably comes as a complete shock to you-."

"Darn straight." Hermione snapped.

The minister continued, giving the brightest witch of her age a stern look. "But this cannot be changed. Mr. Snape will receive a letter sometime tomorrow, and the two of you will be expected to see a ministry appointed counselor this Friday, at noon."

"And if I have other plans for Friday?" Hermione asked, eyebrow raising up in defiance.

"Then you will have to cancel them Ms. Granger." Patrick said.

"The breaking of this law is punishable with a lifetime sentence in Azkaban." Mr. Fletcher supplied.

Jean and Richard may have been muggles, but Hermione had told them about the Dementor guarded wizard prison called Azkaban. "Isn't that a bit harsh?" Richard ground out.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger, the wizarding race is, for the lack of a better phrase, dying out. In the last fifty years, several wars have ripped through our populations, and our numbers are dwindling. The ministry has decided that this is the best course of action, to ensure our peoples survival."

Hermione seemed to be in a daze, and her mother couldn't help but notice. "That's an awful lot of pressure to put on the people of your nation, enforcing it as such." A frown marred Jeans face, which brought Hermione out of her daze, because her mother never frowned. "I understand your reasonings, but I do not think that it's right."

Hermione couldn't resist the temptation to smile, proud to have learned compassion from her mother. Mrs. Hermione Jean Snape… it was a difficult thing to wrap her head around. Professor Snape was a great man, snarky conniving git that he may be, he was great man. But he had been her potions professor for six years, and would have been for seven had the war not escalated, and her, Ron, and Harry having to go on the run. Hermione had been one of the few who had not needed to accept Headmistress McGonagalls offer to come in for an 'eighth' year at Hogwarts. She fondly remembers Harry and Ron laughing at her for studying for her N.E.W.T.s while on the run, one of the last good nights they had before Malfoy Manor had been when she got her results from the sent in tests. Severus was an esteemed member of the Order of the Phoenix, or at least he had been before the fiasco at the Astronomy tower, which also threw a wrench into him being Dumbledore's confidante. Select people however, knew that he had given his heart to Lily Evans years ago, and she was worried that he wouldn't be able to love her due to him already loving Harry's mum. She was lost in her thoughts when the ministry officials stood, and Patrick Jergens held out his hand for her to shake. "It was a pleasure meeting you Ms. Granger."

She stood to shake his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you as well Minister."

"Please call me Patrick," he said as she moved to show them out.

"As long as you call me Hermione sir."

The group that came with the minister exited and apparated away, only two, who were wearing different robes, who Hermione guessed to be bodyguards waited for the minister who had stopped in the doorway to turn to her. "Don't forget the meeting, this Friday, at noon!" He told her softly, before walking to the bodyguards and apparating away.

Hermione tried to get back into her book as her parents watched television, but before too long she was standing up to make her exit. "Night mum, night dad." She drifted up the stairs and into her room, where she changed into her pajamas and lay on her bed, staring up at the lavender lace canopy. Mrs. Hermione Snape. Mr. and Mrs. Severus Snape. Hermione Snape. Hermione didn't know when she fell asleep, but the next thing she knew there was a soft light coming in through her window. Had it been a dream? She asked herself, before moving over to her desk. She decided to write Ron and Harry, to see if they had received a visit as well.

 _Harry,_

 _I don't know whether or not I believe it happened, so for the most part I am just curious. By any chance were you greeted by an assortment of ministry wizards either late last night or sometime early this morning? Since I do not know whether or not you are at the burrow or at your flat in London, so I will also be owling Ron._

 _If this did indeed happen, I think it would be a good idea if we all met up. I hope to hear from you soon._

 _Hermione_

She went to write her letter to Ron, and only hesitated for a moment. They hadn't spoken much since they broke up, even though it had been an amicable split.

 _Ron,_

 _I don't know if Harry is at the Burrow or at his flat in London, so I'm writing to both of you about a peculiar visit that I got last night from a small contingency of Ministry Officials. I was hoping you could tell me whether or not you received a similar visit._

 _Hermione_

She folded the parchments, and sealed them with a wax set that she had gotten during her visit to Diagon Alley before she left to find her parents in Australia. Coincidentally, that was the same trip that she had gotten her owl Apollo on, wanting to have a way to contact Harry and Ron if she had needed help. That and since she had taken her N.E.W.T.s and effectively graduated from Hogwarts, she needed to be able to speak with future employers. So far she had sent the wizarding equivalent of a resume out to several places including the Ministry, she fancied the idea of being an unspeakable, and Hogwarts. She held the letters out to Apollo, "Hey boy, take these to Harry and Ron." He flew out of her open window.

Hermione waited by tidying up her room, replacing books on her shelves, and before too long, she heard a light tapping on her window. She let Hedwig in, and took the letter off of her outstretched leg, giving her a treat before she flew away. Hermione waited until she was no longer visible before sitting on her bed and opening the letter.

 _Hermione,_

 _I too received a visit from the ministry, and I also sent a letter to Ron as well. Ron said Molly suggested we all meet up at the Burrow at ten. (I'm sending this at 8:30) I would ask you who your blood chose, but I figure that the great reveal should be done when we are all together._

 _See you soon,_

 _Harry_

As if on que of her finishing the letter, Hermione heard her mother call for her. "Hermione, breakfast is ready!"

"Coming mum." She called back, before exiting her room and walking down the stairs, and making her way into the kitchen to her chair by her father. "Morning dad."

He gave her a light kiss on her forehead, "morning sweetheart."

As they began to eat Hermione looked between her parents, "do either of you care if I meet Harry and Ron at the Burrow around ten?" She asked, before taking another bite of her toast.

Her mother smiled at her over her tea. "Of course not sweetie, are you guys meeting up to talk about the visit last night?"

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, I sent them a letter as soon as I got up, asking if it was a dream. We're all meeting there so we can reveal our 'intended'." She said, "I had been worried for a moment that it was something I had made up."

Richard smiled at her. "Of course it wasn't sweetheart, even your goofy mind couldn't make something like that up." He took a sip of his coffee. "By the way, who is this Snape person?"

Hermione's face darkened a bit. "During our first five years at Hogwarts he was our Potions professor, and during our sixth year he was our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor."

Jean wiggled her eyebrows at her daughter. "Did you want to get jiggy with him in the dungeons?"

Rolling her eyes Hermione stood up. "On that note, I doth depart." She kissed her mothers forehead, and hugged her father. "I'll be back later." She walked out of the house, and waved at the neighbor across the street who was mowing their lawn. She walked down towards the convenient store a couple of blocks away, and went to walk around the back. When she made sure that there weren't any muggles watching, she spun on the spot, and apparated right outside of the fence that surrounded the Burrow.

Hermione enjoyed looking at the scenery as she walked slowly up to the door. The door was jerked open as soon as she knocked, and Molly pulled her into a tight hug. "Hermione my dear, you'll be staying for lunch?"

"Of course Molly." She replied sitting down at the ominously solemn table. "Who would like to go first?"

Harry's lips twitched as Molly bustled around in the kitchen, charming the breakfast dishes to wash themselves, and the scrub brushes to clean the floor. Seeing that nobody else felt inclined to start he began. "Well, you can imagine the reception that they got at my place, knocking on my door at midnight. I yanked the door open and they got a wand in their face."

"Of course, they would expect nothing else from you."

Harry mock glared, before bursting into a goofy grin he had probably learned from Sirius. "I completely refused, until they told me about the lifetime sentence in Azkaban. Even then, I was very reluctant, but thankfully when my blood dripped on the paper, it spelled Ginny's name."

Ginny sat down beside him and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek, before turning to Hermione. "You know how I've waited for him, and when we were together for those months during my fifth year I couldn't have been happier. I didn't want to pressure him about getting back together after the war, so despite the fact I don't agree with the consequences, this law is somewhat of a godsend."

Hermione smiled back at her. "I told you that all you had to do was be yourself." She turned to Ron, "So, who did you get? Tell me that it wasn't Millicent Bulstrode!"

The skin around Ron's lips turned a bit green. "No it wasn't, thank heavens, not from her lack of trying of course. I got Lavender Brown."

Hermione smiled again, the Slytherin had been trying very hard to get Ron to date her after the final battle. Harry turned to her, and the smile dropped off of her face. "So, 'Mione.. who did you get?"

She looked down at her hands and grimaced, and in a quiet but firm voice replied. "Apparently, the person that my heart desires is.." She let her voice drop, because despite the fact that she knew he was a good man now, they knew that he hasn't always been.

Harry reached a hand across the table to cover hers. "Come on Hermy-own-ninny, it can't be that bad."

She looked up and met his emerald orbs. "Yes it bloody well could."

"Who?" Harry asked, giving her hand a comforting squeeze.

"Severus Snape." She quietly replied, looking down again as the people sitting around the table gasped.

* * *

"Thank you Pipsy, have fun on your day off tomorrow." The usually dour man said to the little house elf that had just placed his food on the table in front of him.

There was a light tapping on the window, and Pipsy rushed to get it. "I'll gets it sirs. Please enjoy your breakfast."

Severus Snape disliked having a house elf, he thought they were for people too lazy to clean up after themselves. But she had been his mothers, and when she had passed, the elf had cried until he agreed to keep her. His deal was that she would take one day off and galleon a week. When she set a large padded envelope on the table in front of him, he gave her a quiet, "Thank you." He groaned when he turned the letter over and saw the seal with the letters M.o.M. around it in calligraphic letters. Breaking the seal with a long finger, he lifted his cup and took a sip of orange juice with his other hand. He pulled the thick packet out of the envelope, and when he read the first paragraph, he spit his drink across the table.

"Is the orange juice tasting okays sir?" Pipsy asked, worried that he had spit it out because it had gone bad.

"Yes Pipsy, it's fine. Just this letter…"

"May I be so bold as to ask whats in the letter sir?"

Severus felt the urge to swallow the large lump that had instantaneously appeared in his throat. "It appears.. it appears that I am to be married."

Pipsy wrung her hands together. "That is joyous news sir. Shalls I get you a glass of fire-whiskey to celebrate?" He nodded and closed his eyes, bringing forth a picture of the red haired 'goddess' that had ensnared his senses since the age of seven. "Heres you go sir." She said, handing him a slightly steaming glass of fire-whiskey. "So who will be my misses sir?"

Red hair suddenly turned to brown as the image of Lily Evans morphed into the brightest witch of her age. "Hermione Granger."

 _~Finite Incantantem_


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own HP.**

 **Chapter Three**

Light slowly began seeping in through windows on either side of the bed as Hermione Granger sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. After sitting for a couple of minutes, she got up and changed into her jogging pants and sweat shirt, deciding that a run will help her put her thoughts in order. 'It's Thursday.. tomorrow I will meet up with Professor Snape and the ministry official to discuss our impending nuptials'. She thought as she stepped out of her front door, and began jogging down the street. 'I'm going to marry my potions Professor. Mr. and Mrs. Professor Severus Snape. Hermione Jean Snape.' As she mulled over her soon to be name, she smiled slightly. Despite the fact that he was nearly twenty years older than her, it sounded a lot better than being married to Malfoy. Her smile turned to a grin at that thought, before she looked at her watch. She ran through a loop that would turn her towards home again. Molly and Arthur had said that she could spend the remainder of the Holiday there, and she had relented, grateful for the comfort and the fact that she could use their floo to get to the ministry instead of having to use the visitors entrance.

Hermione shut the door softly behind her after she entered her home, and heard her mother yell out from the kitchen. "Hermione, is that you?"

"Yes, it's me." She replied as she made her way up the staircase. "I went for a jog to clear my thoughts."

"Are you going to the Weasleys today?" Jean asked, coming upstairs with an empty basket for laundry.

Hermione was pulling clothing from her dresser. "Yes, they invited me to stay until the next school year starts. I plan on putting in several applications at places in the wizarding world and I'm hoping to use their floo in case I get a letter about an interview." She turned to see her mom dumping her hamper into the basket. "I'm going to take a shower before I pack."

"Okay sweetie," she replied, leaving the room with Hermione right behind her. Just as Hermione was about to shut the bathroom door, she added, "try not to think of your potions professor too much while you're in there."

Hermione shut the door and leaned against it. If only her mother knew what had gone through her daughters mind through Hogwarts. As Hermione stepped into the shower, she allowed herself to drift off into one of her old fantasies, steaming hot water warming her body.

" _Miss Granger! Your potion is completely unacceptable, and you will have to stay after class to redo it!" Snape ground out from behind her._

" _Professor, that is not fair!" She replied, glaring at the dark man._

" _Twenty points from Gryffindor for your cheek!" He sneered, walking towards the front of the mysteriously empty classroom._

 _She looked around and let a coy smile settle on her face. The room was empty, and that meant she could talk back more. "Which cheek professor? My left? Or my right?"_

 _He turned to her with a glare. "Miss Granger, your innuendo is entirely inappropriate! I will not have that in this class!"_

 _Starting from where they were on her hips, Hermione slowly slid her hands up her sides, and over her breasts, before she unbuttoned the top three buttons. "Then where will you have it sir? Your office? Your private store cupboards?" She closed the five steps between him, and when she was an inch away leaned up to purr into his ear. "Your bed?"_

 _She didn't give him much time to respond, finishing the last button, she wiggled her shoulders and didn't try and stop her shirt as it slid to the floor. "Miss Granger," Severus began, holding his hands up as if to stop her. "I must ask that you put your shirt back on."_

" _Why Professor?" She asked, smile widening when his voice had quivered. She ran a finger down the side of her face, down her neck, and slid it into the cup of her lacy bra._

 _She wasn't expecting him to grab her, though she had hoped he would, and pull her so tight against him that she could feel his erection. "Because if you don't, then I might not be able to stop myself from ravishing you." His voice was incredibly husky by the time he was done talking._

 _Hermione tilted her head back, and stood on her tippy toes until their lips were only a breath apart. She placed her hand on his chest, one staying firm, and the other sliding down his side, to lightly cup his erection. "But what if I want you to ravi-." She didn't finish, because he placed a searing kiss against her lips. She groaned, and kissed him back with a passion_.

"Hermione?" Jean yelled, knocking on the door. "Will you hurry up in there? I need to take a shower for work today, and if anything you're probably the one that needs a cold shower."

"Almost done," she called back, trying to calm her breathing as she rinsed herself off. When she exited the shower, she quickly dried off and got dressed, before opening the door to find her mom leaning against the opposite wall.

"That was an awful long shower you took dear, did you get a little distracted?" Hermione tried her best to ignore the knowing grin on her mothers face.

"Yes," she gave her mother a moment to take that in. "I got shampoo in my eye and it took forever to rinse out." Hermione walked to her room, grinning at the slightly disappointed look that had been on her mothers face. She let her mind wander as she began to pack her stuff. She was hoping that by the time the others went off to school, some of the places she'd sent her resume to would send her an application or ask her to come in for an interview. She had already sent an application into Hogwarts, the Department of Mysteries, and even applied for an apprenticeship at Gringotts. She was still planning on applying at some of the places in Diagon Alley, places like Flourish and Blotts, Ollivanders, or even Whizz-Hard Books.

She was putting the finishing touches on her luggage, when she heard a tapping noise, and turned to see a beautiful silver owl pecking on her window. She let it in and took the letter, and small package from around its leg. "You're gorgeous." She told it, offering it one of Apollo's treats, and petting it's feathers. She looked at the envelope, and frowned slightly when she didn't recognize the handwriting. She picked up the letter from where she had set in on her bed, and opened it, gasping when she read the first sentence.

 _Ms. Granger,_

 _As doubtful as you may be on the topic, with our shared history, my mother raised me to be an honorable man. So I would like to start this off with an apology for my behavior. I cannot apologize for all of it, as I was first and foremost a spy, and I could not allow the Dark Lord to find out that I was not loyal to him._

 _Yesterday I received a letter from the ministry demanding that I send you a gift before we have our meeting at the ministry tomorrow. The silver owl that delivered this to you is yours now, and I have been calling her Aphrodite, but you may change her name if that is what you wish. I now ask that you open up the little package and use an engorgio on it._

Hermione turned to the owl, and offered it another treat as she picked up the little package. She pulled the twine bow that held it shut, and raised an eyebrow at the little box. Touching it with the end of her wand she murmured the spell, as requested, " _Engorgio._ " The plain box grew quite large, and she opened the lid to find a beautiful cage and labeled packages that indicated food, treats, bedding, and what looked to be a package of stationery.

 _I know that you have an owl already, Apollo I believe, but Aphrodite is keyed into my wards, and is one of the few owls allowed to enter any of my properties. As you can imagine, with my previous profession, I have received, for lack of a better phrase, hate mail, and wished for it to stop. So I thought that you could keep Aphrodite with you, and I can key Apollo into the wards at a later date so that your parents can reach us whenever they want to._

 _Until Tomorrow,_

 _Severus Snape_

 _P.S. You may notice some.. changes in my appearance._

By the time she had finished the letter, Hermione was leaning against one of the posts on her bed. She breathed a sigh of relief, she had been entertaining the idea of getting an owl for her parents, so that they didn't have to wait for her to owl them. She could leave Apollo with them, and have them owl her whenever they were short on supplies, because while they could get supplies at a muggle pet shop, but the magical supplies were healthier for them, since they were magical creatures.

She checked her watch again, and swapped the supplies she had packed for Apollo with the new ones she had for Aphrodite, only leaving out the cage. She took some bedding out of the open bag on her desk and lay it in the bottom of the cage, and turned the open door towards Aphrodite. "C'mon girl." She said, smiling when Aphrodite flew over to the cage, and sat on the bar that was about five inches from the bottom. "I'll be right back." She told the owl, who seemed to nod at her. She minimized Apollo's stuff and levitated it into his cage, and opened her door, carrying it downstairs. Her mom was in the kitchen getting her lunch ready for work. "Hey mom."

Jean turned around and looked at her, "Hey sweetie, what's up?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at the cage.

"I'm going to move Apollo's stuff down here, and I'll send him back once I get to the Burrow."

"What are you going to do about an Owl darling? I thought you had talked about sending in applications." Her mother asked, as she zipped her lunchbox, setting it on the table next to her purse.

"Apparently one of the conditions for the male subjects of this 'law' is that they have to send their future spouses a gift before they have their meeting at the ministry. Severus sent me an owl because he had to ward his house off from most owls, and wanted us to be able to stay in contact. I'm leaving Apollo here so that you can always get a hold of me."

"Okay dear. Are you leaving now?"

Hermione nodded, "yes, I was wondering if you wanted me to put his stuff in your office."

"That would be wonderful, that way it'll all be ready for him when he gets back."

"If you're starting to get short on supplies, and I haven't been by, just tell me what you're running out of, and I'll bring it over."

 _~Finite Incantantem_


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own HP. This one's shorter than the last.**

 **Chapter Four**

Hermione lay in the room that used to belong to Percy, thinking about just how much her life had already changed since Monday night. But then again, it wasn't even so much that her life had changed, but more her thinking had. Before Monday, she hadn't even really thought about marriage. Controlling her thoughts, she looked back on the day, which had been… hectic to say the least.

" _Hermione!" Molly greeted after she yanked the young woman into the house._

" _Hello Molly." Hermione replied, returning the tight hug._

" _We saw you on the clock dear. Come in, everybody is inside." Molly told her as she turned to move towards the living room._

 _Hermione closed the door behind her, and followed Molly through the kitchen. She noticed their attention shift from her to Aphrodite as she sat down the new cage on top of the coffee table. From his perch near the small window, Apollo flew over and settled himself down on her shoulder; the owl was waiting to greet her before going off hunting._

" _Hey there," she said, reaching up with one hand to stroke his crown while the other fished in her jacket pocket for the small tin of treats. "I need you to stay with mum and dad after your hunt okay? That way they can get ahold of me whenever they need to."_

 _Swallowing the offered treat, Apollo nipped her cheek affectionately before flying past her and out of the open window, no doubt to join the other owls who she had seen waiting on the fence outside. After he left Hermione turned towards everyone._

" _Hello!"_

" _Hermione?" Harry asked._

" _Yes?" She replied, turning to him._

" _Where'd you get the owl?"_

" _Oh." She looked down to hide the slight blush that spread across her cheeks. "She's a gift from Snap.. Severus. He mailed me this morning about how the ministry stated that he had to give me a gift. Her name is Aphrodite."_

" _He gave you an owl?" Ginny asked as she observed the bird. "I guess that's not so bad. She is beautiful. Though Harry's was probably more romantic. He gave me this." She reached down and pulled a necklace out from under her shirt._

" _I found it when I went looking in my family vault," Harry said, taking Ginny's hand. "The ministry sent me a letter saying that I had to give her something, but I had already been planning on giving her this necklace. The portraits in the vault said that it belonged to my grandmother, and that my grandfather gave it to her before they got married."_

 _Hermione nearly 'awed' at the blush on Harry's cheek, so she turned her attention to Ron. "And what about you? What did Lavender get?"_

 _Ron looked down and mumbled something unintelligible._

" _I'm sorry, what was that?"_

 _Harry began laughing. "He sent back the necklace that she gave him during our fifth year."_

 _Her mahogany eyebrows shot up as her head jerked back in surprise. She shot Ron a look of utter disbelief, though she was trying very hard to keep the smile off of her face. "No.." she whispered. "Ron… you didn't."_

" _Oh, he did."_

" _Her reply came back this morning." George supplied._

" _She said she thought it was horrible that he couldn't think of anything original." Fred continued._

 _George laughed, shoulders shaking. "It gets better."_

" _Yeah," Fred continued, "She sent a howler."_

" _Woke the whole bloody house up with her screeching," said George, rubbing his injured ear. "Almost thought that we were having a banshee invasion. As if I needed an excuse to lose another ear."_

 _Unable to control it anymore, Hermione sank into the chair behind her, as a snort escaped, which erupted into laughter shortly after._

" _Hey!" Ron yelled in indignation, "It's not that funny!"_

 _If anything, it just made all of them laugh even harder. "Yes it is!" She fired back, "and also a bit concerning, wouldn't you think Ronald? That Severus Snape- a 'slimy Slytherin'- could make a more romantic gesture than a 'bleeding heart Gryffindor'." At his answering glare, Hermione only scoffed. "You honestly think that I will be scared by your halfhearted glare after having been tortured and having the word mudblood carved into my arm?"_

 _The words were out before she could stop them and Ron's face turned blank as Ginny gasped. None of them had really talked in detail about what had happened last year when all three of them had been on the run. "Hermione," Molly said, voice quivering slightly. "May I see it?" She asked, moving close to her._

 _Giving her a sad smile and a nod, Hermione reached down and pulled up her right sleeve, and in the sudden silence of the room Molly Weasley gingerly took the young woman's arm into her hands. After the months that had passed, the scars still seemed as if they were freshly healed on her skin. They had neither softened nor faded. Whatever the curse that had been used on the dagger was, it assured that Hermione would not be getting rid of the word on her skin anytime soon._

" _Who?" Whispered Molly, as she looked down at the scars._

 _Hermione started to shake her head, "Molly-"_

" _Who?" The grip on her arm tightened slightly and Hermione grimaced as she averted her gaze._

 _Sighing, she answered, "Bellatrix."_

 _The hands left her arm, only to come up and cup the sides of her face. Molly gently turned her head to face her and Hermione caught the tears running down her face. "I promised myself at Hogwarts that I would not allow that woman to hurt another member of this family. Not after how she had gone after Ginny." Molly sobbed, pulling Hermione up from the chair, and into another hug. "But I hadn't realized that she had already hurt one."_

Even though she'd gotten used to the fact that she had parents now, after having spent her younger years in the orphanage, it was still a nice feeling to have someone call you daughter, and at that thought, Hermione closed her eyes, and entered the realm of Morpheus.

 _~Finite Incantantem_


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own HP**

 **Chapter Five**

Hermione Jean Granger was presently doing something that 'brightest witch of their age' did not do. She was nervously fidgeting in the chair that was exactly two to the left of the one sat directly in from of the door of the Department of Family Affairs office. The door that, in half an hour, she and Severus Snape would be going through to meet with an official to speak of their impending nuptials. She still didn't quite understand why the potion had declared him as being her soul mate. 'I mean sure, I've had my share of fantasies about the man, but who hasn't.' She thought to herself. She thought back to the fantasy she had thought of yesterday in the shower, from fifth year. She could remember precisely where it had left off when her mother had interrupted her.

 _One hand slid up her back, and his long fingers entangled into her chocolate hair and he pulled her flush against his body. The other hand slid down her hip and reached around to cup her ass, lifting her up to sit on the desk behind her. She moved her hands from his erection up to the buttons on his robes, making quick work of them, and shoved his robes off his shoulders and onto the floor. "Hermione," he uttered in his voice of woven silk, before kissing a trail down her neck, to the tops of her breasts._

She sighed, exiting her fantasy. "Definitely had a lot of fantasies about him, but the man is bloody mysterious."

She was expecting that her thoughts would become clear after her escape into her mind, but then the same silk voice that had murmured her name lovingly into her ear called out from beside her. "Ms. Granger, not only is your language atrocious, but the fact that you talk to yourself in public almost makes me wish that I hadn't agreed to this!" She turned to look at the man that was soon to be her husband, and was slightly bedazzled. He didn't have a sneer on his face, a face that looked so much younger than he had before. She smiled lightly, blaming lack of Voldermort. "Are you sure that it wasn't because the alternative was a lifetime imprisonment in Azkaban, Professor?"

He quirked an ebony eyebrow at the title. "Ms. Granger, I do believe that since you finished your Hogwarts education last year that you may stop calling me Professor."

Hermione's smile widened, and with the fantasy on her mind she had to fight herself to stop from purring in his hear when she whispered. "So, what shall I call you, Sir?"

"If you were so inclined, you may call me Severus." He said, and her mind flashed to a different fantasy.

 _Her wrists were tied to her bed posts with the remnants of her Gryffindor scarf. She was very thankful that the other girls had opted to go home for the holidays, because she was certain that the moans rolling out of her mouth could be heard over their silencing charm. "Severus," she moaned, arching her back, and raising her hips to meet his as he began thrusting faster._

She was brought out of her day dream when the door across the hall from them burst open, and two people stormed out, and promptly stormed off in opposite directions, though she suspected that the girl would turn around after she realized she was going the wrong way to reach the exit. A robust man stepped through the doorway and caught a glimpse as the unhappy couple disappeared, before looking down at his clipboard and calling out, "Hermione Granger and Severus Snape." They shared a look as they stood, and stepped towards the man who moved backwards to allow them entrance and said lightly, "Please, come in." The man sat down in a chair behind the desk, and motioned them towards the love seat on the other side of the desk. When they were comfortable, he leaned forward and held out his hand for them to shake. "Hello, my name is Harold Mulligan, and I'll be overlooking your case."

Hermione's nose wrinkled at the term he had used. "Our case? That's a rather insensitive way to refer to our upcoming marriage."

Harold glanced at her as he shook Snape's hand. "I assure you that I meant no offence Ms. Granger, but you two are the fifth couple that I've seen so far today, and as you may have noticed by the exit of the fourth couple, not everybody is thrilled about this law."

She nodded her head, "Please sir, call me Hermione." She fought to ignore the images of Snape plunging into her as she continued. "I'm not exactly thrilled either to be forced into something that should be done on ones own time, I don't think any sort of relationship should be forced." She paused for a moment, contemplating on whether she should continue. "The way the minister explained it though, it was either this or imprisonment."

"I am honored Hermione." He handed both of them a roll of parchment. "On this roll of parchment is a list of guidelines for this 'engagement' shall we call it."

From the corner of her eyes, Hermione saw Snape lean forward. "Guidelines?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Harold nodded, "Some of the couples have never met the person that the potion chose for them. Certain measures must be taken to ensure their safety. Like that last couple for example; the two of them have been at each others throats since they started school. Her name was higher on the list, and therefore was given the potion. He said that he refuses to fall in love with someone as cold-hearted as her." He straightened a pile of booklets on his desk before looking back up at them. "Will you clasp hands and hold them out towards me." He said, and even though it had sounded like a question, Hermione knew that it was a command. Even so, when a warm and soft hand slipped into hers, and moved towards Harold's desk, a gasp fell from the young girls pink cupid bow lips. Mr. Mulligans wand hovered above their hands and after taking a breath he started speaking. "It is both my solemn duty and extreme pleasure to see over this betrothal. Hermione Jean Granger; resident of Great Britain, age 20. You are here to become betrothed to Severus Tobias Snape; resident of Great Britain, physical age 23."

Unable to stop herself, Hermione, looking at Harold like he was mentally incompetent, interrupted. "What? That's impossible."

Harold gave her a look, "I can assure you Ms. Granger, that I have only spoken the truth."

"But sir, I'm only 18!" She said, mildly alarmed. "I was born in 1979-."

The man opened a file on his desk. "Did you or did you not use a time turner for your third and fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Ms. Granger?"

"Yes sir, but-."

"Was it or was it not explained that you would age faster while you were using the time turner?"

She was silent for a moment, "It was, but what about Professor Snape?" Hermione asked, waving her hands towards the mentioned man.

"Severus." Snape said, joining into the conversation. Hermione looked at him before turning back to Harold.

"Yes," she exclaimed, "what about Severus?"

"Hermione," Snape ground out, and if it weren't for the fact that she could sense his irritation she would have moaned at the sound of her name rolling off of his lips. "You could ask me, I am fairly certain that I am able to ascertain why I am not as old as I should be."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming her emotions, before opening her eyes and turning to him. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and watched surprised as his anger dissipated. "I just found out that I am two years older than I thought that I was, and that you're somehow twenty years younger than I thought that you were." Her eyes filled with tears that she refused to let fall, and she closed them again in an attempt to keep them in. "Yesterday was a very emotional day, and I guess that I shouldn't have tried holding my emotions in."

He moved the thumb on the hand that held hers to caress the back of her hand. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head, and reluctantly raised her right sleeve, revealing the word Mudblood where it was carved into her arm. "Yesterday, the Weasleys.. Molly saw this for the first time. She started crying because she didn't know about it. Since the end of the war, neither Ron, Harry, nor I have spoken about what had happened while we were… camping. It shocked her, and she told me that she thought of me as a daughter." She calmed herself again, wiped her face, and looked up at Severus. "How are you only twenty-three years old?"

He took a deep breath, as if he were trying to decide how to word it, and swallowed. "As you may know, Nagini was a very odd snake. When the Dark Lord made her into a horcrux and placed extra enchantments on her, in the name of protection, Magic transformed her venom into something much more deadly. There was no known cure. I had long since been suspicious that my life would end because of that damned snake from the first time I was called after the rebirth. So I began working on a possible anti-serum. I combined essence of bezoar, fire whiskey, multiple other ingredients.. and time turner dust."

"Time turner dust? How did you get time turner dust?" She asked, not aware of the squeak her voice had come out as.

Severus nodded. "Yes, time turner dust. I had Lucius grab me some from the Department of Mysteries, since he was always in the ministry for some reason or the other. I figured that if I couldn't use a direct anti-venom to the viper poison then I could attempt to revert it to a less potent stage. I just didn't know that it would have this effect on me."

Hermione Granger, bushy haired know it all, 1/3 of the Golden Trio, was shocked. Not only did Severus invent a potion to negate the effects of a fatal snake bite, but also unintentionally figured out how to make himself younger. She turned to Mr. Mulligan, who nodded at her, as if confirming his story. Harold then picked his wand back up and the Professor grasped Hermione's hand again and moved it forward. Harold cleared his throat again before speaking. "It is both my solemn duty and my pleasure to see over this betrothal. Hermione Jean Granger; resident of Great Britain, age 20. You are here to become betrothed to Severus Tobias Snape; resident of Great Britain, age 23. Ms. Granger, do you accept this betrothal, and all that it entails?"

Still stunned at his accomplishments, she looked at the professor, meeting his deep onyx eyes, "I accept."

Harold turned to Severus. "Mr. Snape, do you accept this betrothal, and all that it entails?"

"I accept." He said, without hesitation, and without unlocking their gazes.

"By the power vested in me by the Minister of Magic, and the Wizengamot, I declare that you are betrothed. As he spoke, sapphire flames flew from his wand, and wound around the hands of the Snarky man, and the brightest witch of her age. As soon as the flames disappeared he set his wand down. "Now that the official part of this is over, I need you two to fill out these papers at home, and send them in by owl. It is best if you don't tell the other what you write, but if you'd like to then you should know that there will be no repercussions."

"What will these papers do exactly?" Hermione asked as he held out a packet of papers to each of them, taking hers and looking down to see the dark lettering across the top.

 **Ministry of Magic**

 **Marriage Law Questionnaire**

"The way that you answer the questions will decide how long your courtship will be, and when your wedding will be. It is one of the things that is causing the most outrage, but as most of the couples brought together by this law don't like each other, it was decided that the ministry will chose these things."

Hermione looked at Severus again, and nodded, because she wouldn't be able to decide on a wedding date that would be soon, as she had always wanted to start a career before she got married. "That is," Severus began, derailing her thoughts, "understandable."

"There will be an anti-contraceptive charm placed on you at the wedding, and it is best if the first child is born within the first year of marriage, though there won't be any repercussions until the end of the second year."

"What?!" Hermione yelled, standing up. "That is outrageous! I can accept the fact that this law is necessary for magic to continue, but I refuse to be forced to get pregnant until it is a consensual decision between Severus and I."

"Miss Granger, it is-."

"NO!" She yelled, one decibel short of a scream. "I will not be treated like some bitch for breeding!" She picked up the packet, and stomped out of the room, throwing the door open and storming down the corridor.

Severus watched as Hermione stomped away. He turned back to the officiator with a slight smirk on his face. "This just might be more fun than I had originally thought," he said, picking up his own packet, and shaking Harold's hand. "I'll send these in soon," he added, before walking out of the open door, seeing a shell shocked Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley sitting outside of the room. His smile widened into a grin, wishing that he could see her reaction. It was rumored that she had a temper that could put her own mother to shame.

 _~Finite Incantantem_


	6. Chapter 6

**I know I'm late, and I'm sorry. I don't own HP**

 **Chapter Six**

Hermione was still fuming when she appeared back at the Burrow. Entering the house, she slammed the door shut behind her, the action startling the occupants who up until then were noisily sitting down for lunch. "Hermione?" Molly questioned, standing from her seat. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's _WRONG!?_ " She cried, jabbing her finger out the window in the direction she assumed the ministry was located. "Not only are they bloody forcing everybody to get married, but they expect us to just get pregnant and have a child almost instantly. We don't even know when we'll be married, but we have to have a baby in what could potentially be a year."

Hermione moved around the table and moved towards the staircase, leaving behind a baffled group of people. The exception to that being the twins, who were laughing quietly to themselves at her outburst until she heard Molly reprimand them. Entering Percy's old room, Hermione slammed herself down at the desk chair that was particularly uncomfortable.

Only after several minutes of willing herself to calm down did she remember the stack of paper in her hands. She sat it down on the desk, and flipped the cover paper over. She looked at the guidelines, and read them to herself. She paused as she looked down at the first sentence.

 **Describe in detail your ideal wedding.**

For the second time within less than an hour, Hermione found herself shocked, though it quickly turned to thoughtfulness as she regarded the form. How would she describe her ideal wedding? Grabbing a quill from the drawer and opening one of her ink bottles, she placed the nib on the parchment. After pausing again, she started to write.

 _-Behind the church that my parents got married in, there is a meadow that is filled with wildflowers. I've always wanted to get married in that meadow. There would be chairs set in two groups with mixed seating. At the end of the aisle, over the altar, there would be a wooden arch woven with flowers and thin strips of white cloth, some blowing in the wind. The sun would be shining, and there would be a light breeze._

 **What time of year would your ideal wedding occur in?**

 _\- The middle of spring; past when it's raining all of the time but before it gets too hot during the day._

 **How many children do you want?**

She frowned again at children being brought up. She still didn't think that they should be forced to have children.

 _-I would like two. I was an only child and know that it was very lonely, but children are expensive and I know that if I had a lot of children they might not be able to have everything that they should._

She turned the page.

 **What do you want to do with your life?**

 _-I want to have had a steady job for at least two years before I get married._

 _-When I get married and my husband I decide to start a family I want us to be happy._

 **How often do you want to have sex?**

"What!?" She yelled, angrily looking over the next questions. "What the hell do any of these questions have to do with the date of our wedding?" She grabbed a fresh piece of parchment as she took a glance at the clock.

 _Severus,_

 _I'm looking over these questions and I think that we should meet. So I will be waiting for you outside of the Three Broomsticks at 6 o'clock to discuss this stupid evaluation._

 _See you then,_

 _Hermione_

She folded the parchment and sealed it, before standing up and making her way down the stairs, and ignoring the cautious looks, she walked straight over to Aphrodite. "Hey girl, will you take this to Severus please?"

Aphrodite seemed to raise an eyebrow at her huffiness of her tone as she grabbed the letter in her talons. She swooped low over the table to grab a biscuit before flying out of the window. Hermione turned around and found Fred grinning at her.

"She definitely came from Snape." He said as he shook his head, "Only he would be able to teach his owls how to raise an eyebrow like that." He then proceeded to do an imitation of raising his own eyebrow, causing Fred to burst out laughing.

"You're doing it wrong," said George, "You need to keep your face blank and scrunch up your nose, see? And don't forget the sneer. Like this."

This time it was Ron who burst out laughing, and rolling her eyes at their antics she walked back to the staircase. "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier Molly. I didn't mean to, I was just frustrated."

Molly walked over to her and gave her a hug. "It's alright dear, I understand. Are you going out again?"

Hermione returned the hug, and then she pulled away and nodded, "yes, in a couple of hours. At the meeting they gave us a packet of paperwork we get to fill out, part of which is a questionnaire that will miraculously decide when our wedding will be. Some of the questions are particularly.. invasive and I thought that it would be a good idea if we talked while we were filling it out. I mean Severus and I haven't interacted outside of Hogwarts, so what do we really know about each other?" She walked up the stairs, and as soon as they heard the door shut George turned to Fred.

"Ten galleons says that Snape gets her knocked up before the wedding." Molly promptly gave him a smack over the head at that comment.

 _~Finite Incantantem_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

 _Hermione stood staring out of the large bay window at the countryside, and was so absorbed in the scenery that she didn't hear the footsteps approach, and gave a start when a pair of arms suddenly wrapped their way around her waist. Relaxing, she leaned back into the sturdy weight of the man behind her. "Darling are you okay?"_

 _Smiling, she turned around in his arms and wound her own around his neck. "I'm fine dear."_

" _Are you sure? I could give you a massage if you would like." He said, running his hands up her sides._

 _Removing her arms from around his neck, she reached to run a finger down his chest and fiddled with the buttons on his slacks. In answer he leaned down, pressing a warm kiss to her lips, and she could only close her eyes in contentment as the kiss made her toes curl._

"Ms. Granger."

"Yes?" She groaned, her thoughts lingering on the illusion.

"Were you intending on going into the Three Broomsticks any time soon? Or were you merely going to wait outside the entire night?"

"Yesss.." It wasn't until the word had rolled off of her lips that the reality came screaming back at her. Frowning in confusion she opened her eyes, only to find the newly de-aged face of her former Potions Master staring down at her.

Her hands flew up to cover her mouth. "Oh merlin! How long have you been standing there?"

"For about five minutes. I've called your name seven times."

"I am very sorry." She said, lowering her hands.

"Do you want to go inside?" He asked, pretending that he hadn't just caught her in the middle of what he assumed was a fantasy, and motioned to the Three Broomsticks.

Hermione shook her head, brown hair swishing in the air. "No, since you did in fact show up, I was hoping you would want to go to the Hog's Head. There is less Rita Skeeter there."

Distaste crossed his face as he stared at the Three Broomsticks, "in that case, I would agree. Lead the way." He said, not quite sure if he imagined the horrid blonde hair or if he had really caught a glimpse of the evil little witch. Nodding, Hermione stood from the bench, and tucked her hands into her pockets, walking side by side with him towards the dilapidated pub.

"I admit that I am curious as to what exactly you were thinking about when I found you." Severus said, making his question a statement in case she chose not to answer.

A crimson blush tinged her cheeks. "Oh, it was nothing really. Just an old fantasy." It was a weak response and they both knew it.

Knowing that he should stop, but still bubbling with curiosity, kept on. "That's the second time today that I've caught you drifting off. Though your language was much tamer this time whilst coming back to reality."

"And you approve?" She asked, amused.

"Very much so," he smirked. "Though I don't recall you ever daydreaming before. Why did this begin all of a sudden?"

"That isn't true!" She said quietly as the walked past Madam Puddifoots. "You mostly only saw me during Potions, so you wouldn't have noticed. Normally the only time I allowed myself to drift off were the few minutes of relaxation that I had. I had very little time to myself back at school, what with all the studying and keeping Harry alive. But now that school is over for me, I've had more time to… drift off than I did before."

He hummed in consideration as the wind blew lightly around them. "So, you said that you wanted to talk about this so called, 'evaluation'."

"The first several questions were easy enough," she began, "but then the fifth one struck me as much too forward. So I thought that we could talk about the questions together as we answer them. That's usually how decisions are made when people are married right? They talk things through, and decide the best course of action to take."

"I agree." He replied, and Hermione turned her head to hide her smile. After that, their walk was silent, and she took time to steal glances at him, tracing his new body with her eyes. His looks had really changed since the Shrieking Shack, and when she had first seen him at the ministry earlier, she had passed it off as the weight of Voldemort being gone. She couldn't help but notice how different he looked now; his nose was straighter, hair seemed healthier, and he didn't have his trademark scowl plastered on his face.

"Are you going to spend the entirety of our walk staring at me?" He asked softly.

She blushed at having been caught. "Sorry," she said, turning towards him. "So, did you answer any of the questions yet?" He nodded, not yet speaking yet. "Did you answer the fifth one?"

"Yes." He finally replied, his voice of husky silk rolling towards her.

"And what did you say?" She asked, trying to hide how his voice affected her.

"I said that our sex life wasn't, nor would it ever be any of their bloody business, and if they tried to force the answer out of me then I can remind them why students screamed as they ran away from me."

Hermione blushed at the mention of their potential sex life, before chuckling at his response. When they arrived in front of the Hog's Head she reached her hand out for the door handle, however Severus bumped her hand out of the way and proceeded to hold it open for her.

"Thank you," she whispered as she moved past him to enter. She motioned him towards a table in the back corner by a fireplace, before walking up to the bar. "Aberforth!" She called, getting the man's attention.

"Hello Hermione. What can I get for you?" He asked, wiping a glass with a rag.

"Can I get two firewhiskeys?" She asked, glancing back towards the Professor.

Following her gaze, he nodded, setting two clean glasses on the counter and filled them with a smoking liquid. "Ogden's finest, the professors favorite.

"How much?" She asked him, reaching for her beaded bag, which was attached to a strap this time.

He gave her a look, "You an' the Professor subject to the marriage law?"

"Yes."

"Then this one's on the house poppet, tell Snape I said Congratulations." He said, pushing the glasses toward her.

Picking up the drinks, Hermione turned around, throwing a 'thank you' over her shoulder. She sat down at the chair across the small circular table and slid one of the smoking glasses across the top, where it stopped an inch away from his hand, not a drop spilled. "Aberforth seemed to approve of my choice of beverage." She said, taking a sip of her drink, sighing at the burn.

He took a sip of his own as he looked up at the bar. "Yes, you could say that I've been a regular here for several years."

She pulled out the packet, her quill, and an ink bottle from her bag with one hand as she took a sip with the other. "Me too, especially right after everything that had happened." She looked up at Aberforth. "Abe was the one that saved us from Malfoy Manor and when the Cauterwaller Charm went off when we apparated here to go to the castle. I usually come to talk to him about Arianna and try to learn more about Dumbledore. But it usually ends with me apparating home with a few drinks under my belt."

Opening the packet to the third page, she just drew a large X over the fifth question. Taking another sip of her fire whiskey, she looked up at him. "Sir, I've got a question."

He arched a dark eyebrow at her. "I was under the impression that we'd established that you don't need to call me sir or Professor anymore."

"Then what about nicknames?" She asked, leaning forward.

"Besides Greasy-haired-dungeon-bat?"

"Assuming that that wasn't a rhetorical question, yes. Greasy-haired-dungeon-bat doesn't exactly scream term of endearment."

"Li-," he paused for a moment. "An old friend of mine called me Sev. There was also Snivellus, Scrawny Git, and when I was younger, my mother called me Toby."

Hermione took another sip out of her glass as she thought over her options. Sev was probably what Lily had called him, and from all she knew his mother was long since dead, and she didn't want to bring up old memories by calling him by the nickname that either of them had given him. "Severus it is then." She replied

"So what was your question? I assume that it wasn't about my having nicknames." He said, smirking slightly.

"I was.." she paused, as if not knowing quite how to continue. "I was wondering if it was the de-aging that caused you to change so much."

"Yes it was." He replied, looking down at his hands, clenching them and then unclenching them a few times. "I had always been so angry, and irritated about being under the control of someone else. Whether it be Riddle or Dumbledore, and I had never been given the opportunity to live. Ever since I lost Lily, the way I saw it, was that any chance I had at romance was thrashed." He swallowed the remaining amount of firewhiskey that sat in the bottom of his glass. "I wasn't expecting to be subject to this marriage law, I honestly wasn't.. but that potion, and the unexpected side effects.. were my new lease on life. I don't have to pretend to hate the world for fear of Riddle finding out, or pretend to agree with everything light to make Dumbledore happy. From now on, I do not have to be anybody- spy, teacher, or whatever- for any reason other than myself, or for no other reason than my own happiness."

"I'm glad that you don't have to hide anymore," she said, trying to rub her hands together, to regain some warmth.

"Are you okay?" He questioned, though not waiting for an answer, he reached across the table and grasped her hands in his own. "Your hands are freezing!" He gasped, murmuring a wandless warming charm.

"I'm fine," she muttered at first, and when she was covered by the warmth of the charm, she added, "Thank you."

"For what?" He asked, hands still holding onto hers.

"My hands were freezing." Hermione replied, looking up, her hazel eyes locking onto the pure onyx ones that sat before her. Heat swirled between them, and she felt something growing inside of her, but before she could say anything else, they were interrupted.

"Hermione!" Harry called from the doorway, walking over to their table, and sitting down next to them. "Hey Sev," he added, cheerfully at the dour man who was holding his best friends hands.

Severus glared at him, a sneer curling the edges of his lips as he pulled his hands away. "Potter!"

Harry raised an eyebrow at him, and was about to respond when Hermione asked, "Harry, why are you here?"

Harry snorted, green eyes glowing brightly. "Ginny is spending the night in a ministry holding cell for trying to attack the counsellor. After I realized why you were angry, I knew where you would be."

"That or you realized that she wasn't at the Burrow." Severus replied before standing, "I need another drink."

Harry grinned. "That too." He called out as he walked towards the bar. He turned towards Hermione and slapped down his envelope. "I'd ask if I could join you, but I see that the old man hasn't warmed up to me any."

"He's not really an old man anymore Harry." She replied.

"I know," he replied. "I probably knew before you did. I hunted him down after the battle so that I could thank him for all that he's done for me. For my mum."

"What?" She asked, shocked. "Why didn't you say anything before I had to go to the appointment?"

"Because I asked him not to." Came a surly voice from behind her.

Hermione looked up at him, stunned, as he set down three full glasses of firewhiskey. "Why?"

"Would it have changed anything if you had known?" He asked softly.

 _A strong hand caressed her cheek, the other sliding down her body, wrapping around her waist and pulling her flush against him. Lips pressed against her as her arms wrapped around his neck._

"I don't know." She replied, forcing herself out of her daydream, and downing half of her drink. "How far did you get on the evaluation?" She asked Harry.

Harry blushed. "Question five. How often do you want to have sex, I kind of just skipped that one."

She grinned, "I crossed it out."

Picking up her booklet, she looked down at the next question. "Number six. Where would your dream honeymoon be?"

"I'm beginning to think that this book is more geared towards the women." Harry said, grinning with the alcohol, "I'm going to get us another round."

Hermione tapped her quill on her chin, running the tip of the feather across her lips, not noticing the dark eyes that followed it. "Honeymoon," she whispered.

 _She was blindfolded. "Where are we going?" She asked, smiling because only a few hours prior she had gotten married to the love of her life._

" _It's a surprise." A warm voice whispered behind her, a light touch trailing down her side as he led her forward._

Hermione dipped her quill into the dark ink, and started writing, not looking up until another glass was set down in front of her. "Why sir, are you trying to win me over by getting me drunk?"

"No fair lady, you are engaged, as am I, to be bound by the holy vows of matrimony. Therefore I believe the time has come, and we must end our passionate affair."

Summoning fake tears, Hermione turned towards Severus, and in a brave move that would later be blamed on the alcohol, she grabbed his hand and placed it directly over her heart. "Oh, sir knight! I beg of you, take me away from this deplorable man who hath scorned me with his rejection."

Severus pulled his hand away slowly, and instead looked down at the papers in front of him. "Number seven, Will your parents play an active part in your children's life?"

"Well I know the answer for that question." Harry muttered bitterly, crossing the question out. "My parents are dead." The jovial mood that had been hovering around the table disappeared.

"That doesn't mean that your children can't get to know their grandparents." Said Severus, "there is so much that you can tell them. The kind of people they were, how much they would have loved to meet their grandchildren." He looked down into the depths of his glass. "Tell them how special your mother was. How brave she and James were, and that they died to protect you."

Harry took a swig of his drink. "What will you tell your children?" Harry asked him. "That sometimes, even when you love someone, you can do something bad to them? That their grandfather was very sick when he hurt your mother."

Hermione looked between the two dark haired men that were seated around the small circular table. She hadn't known about what had happened between Severus' parents.

"My father was not sick." Vehemently answered Severus. "He was a drunk that one night savagely beat my mother to death. At least he was smart enough to do it when I was at school, and not when I was there to kill him myself." He put his arms on the table and lay his head on them. A rare show of defeat. "I had planned on going home that break, but decided not to at the last minute. If I'd gone home.. I could have saved her. I could have stopped that bastard from hurting her again."

"Or you could have gotten killed as well," Hermione supplied.

Severus's eyes flashed as he looked angrily up at her. "What the bloody hell do you know? Your parents are both still alive. You don't know how it feels."

Hermione finished her glass, and stood up, shoving the evaluation and ink bottle into her beaded bag. She shoved her quill in her bag with one hand as she used her other to pick up Harry's glass and finish it as well. Prepared to leave she turned to Severus and stabbed him in the chest with her finger.

"Yes, you slimy son of a bitch, my _adoptive_ parents are still alive. But until the age of eight, I was Hermione Black. I had no parents living in an orphanage. Mum and dad were the first people who wanted me. I worked twice as hard as the other children in my studies because I wanted to make them proud." Severus lost the color that had stained his cheeks from the alcohol. "Your biological parents may be dead, but at least you can take comfort in the fact that they wanted you, whereas mine never did. For all I know, I could be the daughter of some pureblood arsehole that impregnated some random whore. So until you know what the fuck you are talking about, then you need to keep your god damned mouth closed."

With that said, Hermione spun on her heel and stormed her way out of the pub. The door hadn't even shut behind when she turned on the spot, apparating away.

Severus slumped down in his chair after her exit, and rubbed at his face, before turning to look at Harry who looked as shocked as he felt. "Do you have any reason to believe that she is lying?" He asked solemnly.

Green eyes locked onto his. "I guess you haven't known her long enough to know this, but Hermione doesn't lie." Severus opened his mouth before Harry cut him off. "The troll incident doesn't count. All that I do know is that the two times that I went to her house, I never saw a baby picture."

Harry's eyes moved across the room, and he froze for a moment before leaping up. Severus turned around in time to see Harry grab a beetle out of the air by its glittering wing. "Abe, I need a jar!"

Aberforth turned to look at him. "Is it Skeeter again Harry?" Harry nodded, and Aberforth turned around and grabbed a jar off of the shelf behind him; the jar already held a stick and a few leaves. He threw it towards Harry, who used his seeker reflexes to catch it.

He put the beetle into the jar and shut the lid, sitting it down on the table, not being too careful as it had long since been strengthened with an unbreakable charm. "Abe, can we just have a bottle? We're going to need it."

He eyed them with his icy blue eyes that were so much like his brothers, tossing the bottle after him, "Catch." He said, throwing it through the air.

Uncorking the bottle, Harry poured the firewhiskey into Severus's glass until it had nearly reached the rim. He then returned to his seat in front of the stunned potioneer and filled his own glass. Taking a large sip, he slid the jar across the table to the frozen man.

"Severus Snape, I'd like you to meet Rita Skeeter."

Severus sat stunned for a moment, looking between Harry and the jar. "Rita Skeeter, you say?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and achieving a deviant look on his face; and if anything, the beetle seemed to flutter nervously inside the jar.

 _~Finite Incantantem_


	8. Chapter 8

**_I don't own HP._**

 _Hermione,_

 _I apologize for my ghastly behavior. Though obviously I cannot claim to have known about your upbringing, I should not have accused you of not knowing the grief from losing a parent._

 _In effort to apologize, I am giving you something that holds a great deal of sentimental value. The musical jewelry box in front of you is something that has been passed down through my family for generations. The Prince side, of course, and not the Snape side._

 _As she had no other children besides me, my mother requested that this be given to my intended. The song that it currently plays is her and my damnable fathers' song, and after you and I marry it will play our song._

 _I apologize again for my temper. I wish that I could say it was all due to the amount of firewhiskey that I had imbued, but I have a reputation for having an exceptionally high tolerance for spirits._

 _Severus_

Severus folded the parchment up, and placed it beside the beautifully carved cherry wood box. It had a tiny gold latch on the front of it, and for a moment he allowed himself to listen to the tune that it played once the top opened. It was his parent's wedding song, and he could remember his mother dancing to it in the kitchen. He knew that he would eventually give it to someone. When he was younger he had hoped to be able to give it to Lily, but after he had pushed her away.. he figured it would be lost to dust in the Prince vault at Gringotts.

Even though he hadn't expected to be drawn into this marriage law ordeal, he was glad at least, that his mothers jewelry box would go to someone who would take care of it, and appreciate it for it's beauty. He couldn't deny the shiver that ran up his back at the memory of some of his thoughts that he'd had about Hermione at school. She was the first one who had.. intrigued him that much since Lily, and despite his trepidation towards the marriage law, he was glad that it was her. After the song was over, he closed the box, and put the letter on top of it; folding the paper, and tying it shut with twine. He hoped that this would reach her before noon.

 **Chapter Eight**

Hermione leaned against the wall outside of the DMLE, awaiting Ginny's release. When the redhead finally stepped through the door, Hermione happily looped arms with her. "So, I hear that you handled the 'children within a year' news better than I did Gin."

Ginny mockingly glared at her, but it quickly slipped into a smile. "I suppose that trying to attack someone is a bit worse than just stomping out of the room."

Hermione led her friend into one of the lifts, and waited until the doors shut before speaking. "Now Ginny, I know that they didn't mistreat you, what with you being the Chosen One's fiancé and all, but we're going out for breakfast. Then we are going to round up the girls, because we're going out tonight."

"Oh thank you Merlin!" Ginny yelled as the lift doors opened. She wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist as they walked towards the apparition point

Ginny smiled widely at Hermione, "will my man candy be at breakfast this morning?"

"No. I actually wanted to talk with you about something, and I didn't want Harry to be around. Though, technically he knows now, but I wanted to tell you before I told the rest of your family."

Ginny's head whipped towards her so fast that Hermione was certain that she had just given herself whiplash. "You aren't pregnant are you?"

Hermione was unable to stop the laugh that escaped her, "of course I'm not pregnant." She replied, slapping Ginny lightly on the shoulder. "I just wanted to speak to you in private."

"Is this going to be like our talk in fifth year?" Ginny asked in a teasing tone, eyes filled with mirth. "When you told me all about your naughty daydreams?"

"As if I haven't learned my lesson, Merlin, you teased me for months after that." She replied, a light blush dancing on her cheeks. "Though, Severus did in fact catch me twice yesterday while I was in la la land."

Reaching the apparition point, Hermione grabbed the younger woman's wrist and spun them away from the ministry. They landed in an alley in muggle London, and Hermione led them towards a small restaurant.

"You're calling him Severus now!" Ginny gasped in shock from beside her. "What happened?"

"Not out here," she replied, looking around at the surprisingly crowded street, once the early hour was taken into consideration.

"Oh, I get it," Ginny said, "we wouldn't want anybody to know about the Golden Girls dirty fantasies now would we?"

Hermione shot her a glare as they entered the restaurant and waited to be shown to a table. "Please don't start that again."

"I make no promises." Ginny replied, the grin still on her face as the hostess walked up and led them to a table.

"My name is Amanda, and your server will be along to help you momentarily."

They nodded, and just as the hostess walked away their server walked up. "My name is Jeremy and I'll be your waiter today. What would you two lovely ladies like to drink?"

Hermione smiled at him. "I'd like a coca-cola please, light ice."

"Can I just get some tea please?" She asked.

"Of course ladies, I'll be back with your beverages soon." He replied before walking away.

Once Jeremy disappeared into the back, Ginny turned to Hermione. "So, tell me what happened."

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ginny's enthusiasm, before recounting what had happened the day before in the Ministry; about how Severus had caught her daydreaming and his comment about her 'atrocious language'.

"And the second time?" Ginny asked, just as Jeremy returned with their drinks.

"What can I get you ladies to eat?"

"Is it too early for fish and chips?" Hermione asked.

"No, is that what you'd like?"

Hermione nodded and held out her menu, "I'd like the same." Ginny said, holding out her menu as well.

After he left again Hermione turned back to Ginny. "Well I was angry with the questionnaire."

Ginny raised a brow at her, "Who wasn't?"

"So I sent Severus a letter," Hermione continued, ignoring the interruption. "I asked him to meet me outside of the Three Broomsticks, and I was sitting on that bench across from the door when it happened. He caught me right in the middle of my daydream, Gin. I was fantasizing about him kissing me, so of course when he called my name I didn't even think. I just groaned out 'yes'. It took me a bit to realize that he was actually standing right in front of me."

Ginny was grinning at her again. "Do you think that he heard anything else?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. and all I said after that before we got to the Hog's Head was 'Hello' and 'I'm fine'."

"And how are you feeling about this whole thing?" Ginny asked, all jokes aside.

Hermione looked down at her hands. "I don't know. I mean, obviously I'm angry at the fact that we're being forced into this. But at the same time I know I wouldn't have had this chance at him without it. After the fantasies started, I fell for him, hard, and of course I couldn't do anything about it, what with him being our professor, and I his student. But that didn't stop the fantasies. Gods, knowing that it was wrong to think of him like that just fueled them more often than not. After fifth year, I don't think there was more than a class or two where I didn't leave with wet knickers." Hermione's voice got steadily quieter towards the end of her monologue. She wasn't embarrassed because she and Ginny had spoken of this several times over the last several years.

Ginny reached across the table and gently placed her hand on the brunettes. "It'll be okay 'Mione. If you'd like I could get Harry to try and attempt some recon."

Hermione looked up at the younger woman, and snorted. "Gin, I doubt that he would be able to find anything out. Severus isn't exactly known for his willingness to share his feelings."

"Do you want me to ask Harry to try though? I can ask in a way that he won't even know it wasn't his idea." Hermione just smiled at her as Jeremy returned with their food.

"Can I get you ladies anything else?"

"No thank you." Hermione answered, turning to Ginny as he walked away. "What are your thoughts about this whole mess of a situation?"

Ginny swallowed the bite of crispy fish and answered. "I think that anything to make Harry get off of his arse and ask me to marry him is a godsend in disguise. But at the same time I know that there are a lot of couples out there now who against it."

Hermione mentally prepared herself for what she was about to say to her best female friend. "Ginny, there's something else that I wanted to tell you."

At her tone, Ginny looked away from her food and met her eyes. "What is it Hermione, you've turned paler than Malfoy."

"I'm adopted." She blurted out before she could stop herself.

Ginny's eyes widened momentarily before she blinked, obviously not expecting that. "Oh.."

Deciding to take that as her cue, Hermione continued. "I spent the first eight years of my life living in a muggle orphanage. St. Clarice's Home for Girls. It wasn't until shortly after my eighth birthday that mum and dad adopted me. Before that.. I was Hermione Black." Ginny's face was contorted with concern as her friend continued. "I know absolutely nothing about my birth parents, which makes people calling me a mudblood that much worse. They could be, and probably are wrong. Because for all I know, my birth parents could be high up in the pure-blood society, and they just didn't want me."

Ginny slid around the table to wrap her arms around her friend. "What made you decide to tell me now?"

"It was last night at the pub," she said quietly, trying not to cry again. "We were looking over the evaluation, and we got to the question about whether or not your parents would have an active role in your children's lives." A few tears slid out of her eyes. "It was a breaking point for us. Severus's childhood wasn't all that bright, so I tried to comfort him, and he blew up at me. Since my parents are still alive, he assumed that I wouldn't understand how he felt."

Her shoulders shook as she leaned fully into Ginny's embrace. "I don't know if my birth parents are alive or not, but even if they are, they didn't want me. Ron didn't want me, and if it wasn't because of this marriage law, Severus wouldn't look twice at me."

"Hermione Jean Granger, that is not true!" Ginny cried out. "You are not in the tiniest bit unwanted. Harry wants you, and would be dead many times over if it weren't for you. You're my best friend, and I want you. As for my brother," Ginny shrugged, "you know that he's about as dense as a ton of bricks. Besides, I don't think that you would have been happy with him, because he doesn't challenge your mind.." She paused for a moment as if thinking over the rest of what she was going to say. "Snape will challenge you.. and if he can't take the time to see what an amazing person you are then he doesn't deserve you."

"I don't think it has anything to do with whether he deserves me or not Ginny." Hermione replied, leaning back and wiping her eyes. "He's just going to see me as the person he was forced to marry."

"I think that's enough heavy talk for today!" Ginny said abruptly, effectively stopping Hermione from continuing in her self-antagonistic speech. Ginny moved back to her side of the table, and the duo quickly finished their food, leaving shortly after. "Once we get the girls together we're going clubbing right?" Ginny asked, ending the somewhat awkward silence that had elapsed between them.

"Yes, there's that new place at the end of Diagon that I thought we'd try out."

"Are the men going to be joining us? I haven't seen Harry in the club scene yet."

"We can invite them if you want." Hermione replied, toying with the thought of inviting Severus.

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked, before they spun on the spot and appeared outside of Luna's house.

"Might as well." She responded as they walked up the familiar pathway. "Though I doubt that Severus would agree to join us, which is kind of a good thing. I have no intention of dealing with any drama tonight, I just want to dance."

"Then we probably shouldn't invite Harry either." Ginny grinned as she knocked on the tower door. "You know how protective he gets."

Hermione giggled, just as Luna opened the door. "Hey Luna!" Hermione greeted. "We were wondering if you would want to go clubbing with us tonight. We're going to all meet up at the Burrow at around four to start getting ready."

"Can I invite Neville?" Luna asked, in her soft voice.

"Of course, the men are welcome to join us."

Luna fingered the odd necklace she was wearing. "Do you like this? Neville gave it to me as the gift for our engagement. It's a gozzleberry and it's known to repel wrackspurts. Do you like it?"

Hermione smiled, "It's very lovely Luna." She replied, after being on the run she had decided to try not to call so much attention to other peoples eccentricities, as everybody was unique in their own way.

"What did Harry and Severus get for you two?" Luna asked them, glad that Hermione hadn't questioned her beliefs again.

Ginny pulled her own necklace out from where it had fallen beneath the collar of her shirt. "Harry gave me this, it was his grandmother's."

"It's beautiful," the blonde commented before turning to Hermione. "And you 'Mione?"

"He gave me an owl." She replied, looking over her shoulders as if expecting someone to be standing behind her. "Could the two of you round up the other girls? I've got an angry letter to send."

Receiving nods, Hermione apparated away to the Burrow. The house was still silent when she entered and Hermione was glad that they had taken to sleeping in on the weekends now. Walking up the stairs she entered Ginny's room and went over to the desk. Just as she sat down though she heard a light pecking against the window.

She turned towards the window and saw a black owl holding a small package. She stood back up and let the owl in. The owl set the package down and then flew out of the window. Hermione undid the twine and gasped when the paper fell away revealing what the package held. Sitting in the brown paper was a beautifully crafted jewelry box, with a letter sitting on top, the only indication that it was for her was the scrawling script that read _Hermione_.

Ginny arrived home just as Hermione was folding her letter, and closing it with her wax kit. "So did you send him an angry letter?" She asked, walking up and pausing when she saw the jewelry box.

"No. I invited him to tonight's outing. I came up here, prepared to be angry, but he sent me this gorgeous music box. It used to belong to his mother, and I'm sure he was hesitant to give something so precious to me."

"So you've forgiven him?" Ginny asked, reaching a hand out to run across the carvings on top.

"I'll be speaking to him if he decides to join us tonight, but yes, I do think that I will be forgiving him."

Ginny stood there as Hermione went down stairs to send her letter, and was happy that her friend seemed to have gotten somebody who would at least admit when they are wrong. She began walking down the stairs when she heard a knock. "We're here!" Lavender called out. Hermione reached the door first and let them in, eyes widening when half a dozen girls followed Lavender in.

"Hello Hermione!" Chorused the group as they all bustled into the Weasleys living room.

"Aren't you all a bit early? It's not even noon yet." Hermione asked, looking between them and Ginny.

"It's never too early to start getting ready when you're going out clubbing with your friends." Lavender replied.

Hermione rolled her eyes as she looked from them to Ginny, "How do you expect that we will all be able to fit into your room and get ready?"

"Undetectable extension charm," Ginny replied as she motioned Hermione to take the lead up the staircase. "You've done it before, I've seen the inside of your handbag."

As they came to a stop at the door to Ginny's room, Hermione turned to them as she pulled out her wand. "This might not work, charming a handbag is quite a bit different than charming a room." At their nods, and Ginny's 'get a move on it' hand motion Hermione waved her wand in the motion and recited the incantation. As they waited for the spell to take affect the heard the sound of wood creaking, and felt a soft rumble beneath their feet. When it stopped Hermione grabbed the handle of the door and pushed it open. Beside her, Ginny let out a whistle of appreciation as she took in the sight of her resized room.

"Wow." Gasped one of the girls from behind them.

"Right, now that's taken care of," called out Lavender, "let's get ready girls."

* * *

Severus regretted his decision to join them at the club the moment he was sat down at the table at the Burrow. He couldn't quite pinpoint a reason, but when he had received Hermione's letter he had felt the need to do as she had asked. He leaned back against the wooden backing of the chair and decided to look at the ceiling, cursing the witch that brought him here.

"You know," Harry called, drawing his attention from the ceiling. "Spending a night out with people your own age won't kill you."

"No, but the witch that I yelled at yesterday just might." He muttered, more to himself, but he knew that Harry had probably heard him. There was another chorus of squeals an laughter from the room above their heads, and Harry smiled knowingly at him.

"You'll get used to the threats after a while." He said.

Unable to sit still any longer, Severus stood and made his way over to Molly; who was busy looking into a gigantic pot as a spoon stirred its contents. "Molly, are you positive that you don't need any help?"

"Don't be ridiculous Severus." Molly told him as she turned towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's very kind of you to offer, but no, I've been doing this for many years now. I can handle supper just fine, you just concentrate on making our Hermione happy." She gave him a few light pats on the shoulder before releasing him, turning back towards the stove.

"But-."

"Dear, I'm happy for you. I know that your time in the order wasn't easy, and that your time with Voldemort was even less so, but I want you to know that I'm glad that you've found someone that will make you happy. I truly believe that the two of you will do well together, you're both very bright, and incredibly brave. Throw in how stubborn the both of you are, and we've got a perfect match. You'll definitely keep each other on your toes." The elder woman said kindly.

The conversation that had been going on up stairs had stopped, and the only sound that could be heard was the footsteps moving across the floor. Severus sat down and was about to rub his head again when Aphrodite flew over and landed on his shoulder. He reached up and stroked her back, rubbing the area between her wings. "Hey girl." He said softly as she rubbed her head up against his and hooted softly.

"So why did you send Hermione a bloody bird?"

Snape turned to glare at Ron so fast that his neck popped, and the people around the table laughed. "Yep, she definitely came from Snape, alright!" George said loudly.

Glancing at the owl, Severus couldn't help but smirk; she was also glaring at the youngest male Weasley. "In case your brain cells have disintegrated in the last week, I will remind you that we are all due to be married. Aphrodite here is my owl Achilles brother, and they are able to find each other through any wards, so excuse me for wanting to be able to speak to the woman who will become my wife." He sneered at him.

"I hope you sent her at least a letter after last night." Harry said from beside him.

"What happened last night?" Ron asked, turning to glare at Severus.

"Alcohol induced stupor." Severus muttered, and seeing that Harry raised an eyebrow, Severus sighed. "I said some things that I shouldn't have to her, and she was just trying to help. As an apology, since I'm surrounded by nosy people, I sent her a jewelry box that has been in my family for generations. Traditionally it was passed down from mother to daughter, but I am an only child so my mother decided that it should be given to my future wife upon our betrothal." Severus looked to see Molly standing at the end of the table staring at him. The music box is charmed to play the song that the last owner danced to at their wedding. So until Hermione and I get married it will play the song that my parents danced to at their wedding, and when we have children, it will be passed to our daughter, playing our song until she gets married."

"Awww!" The resounding chorus caused him to jump slightly, and Severus immediately turned around, only to meet the brown eyes of his intended; the girls had finally come down from their room and were all standing in the living room watching the men talk at the table. Hermione was standing at the head of the group with her arms crossed and her lips twisted into a smile.

Seeing her smile, Severus wondered what she was thinking right at that moment. "I hadn't realized that it was that old," Hermione said softly, making her friends turn to look at her.

"I didn't think that it would matter." He replied.

She came towards him and raised her hand, which he immediately enclosed in his own. She smiled warmly at him. "Thank you, for trusting me with something as special as this."

Drawing together all of the Gryffindor he could muster, Severus dipped his head forward and brought her hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss across her knuckles. "Only for you my lady," he murmured, looking up to meet her eyes. He was more than satisfied when Hermione's cheeks burst aflame at his action.

"Dinner is served," Molly choked, and with a wave of her wand, and a muttered spell, dishes settled themselves onto the table.

Hermione took her seat across from Severus and sent him a warm smile, and it was one that he couldn't help but return.

 _~Finite Incantantem_


End file.
